1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to unmanned aerial vehicles and, in particular, to autonomously operating unmanned aerial vehicles. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for autonomously performing decision-making onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle to complete a mission.
2. Background
Typically, an unmanned aerial vehicle is operated remotely by a pilot located at a control station. This control station may be located on ground or onboard a different manned aerial vehicle. In some cases, the control station may be located onboard a water vehicle, such as a ship or submarine.
Unmanned aerial vehicles are used to perform different types of missions, including, but not limited to, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. For example, an unmanned aerial vehicle may be remotely operated from a control station and flown into a particular environment. An imaging system attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle may be used to generate raw imaging data for this environment. This raw imaging data is transmitted to the control station for interpretation and analysis by one or more persons at the control station, who then may decide the appropriate course of action. In this manner, perception and interpretation of the environment, as well as decision-making, may be performed by the one or more persons at the control station.
However, operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle may be constrained by the maximum range for communications between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the control station. As one example, some communications systems onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle may require that the unmanned aerial vehicle be within about 50 miles of the control station. Further, some communications systems onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle may require a direct line of sight between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the control station.
This communications range requirement for the unmanned aerial vehicle may constrain the types of missions that may be performed by the unmanned aerial vehicle. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that take into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.